Thank you to Henry Holt and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-arc of The Wedding People by Alison Espach.
I did not know much about this novel before requesting it as a read now. But I am sure happy that I took the leap. This will surely be one of my favorite books this year.

Dealing quite bluntly with themes such as infertility, infidelity and suicide, it may not appeal on its face to the average reader seeing “Wedding” in the title and expecting a rom-com. But I would argue that these are just a small part of this rather complex, wonderful story filled with chance meetings, friendship and overwhelming hope.

Phoebe Snow is a relatable, sympathetic character who grabbed me from page one. I was rooting for her through the entire book. The juxtaposition of the after affects of her failed marriage to the wedding at the center of the action is quite something. Ditto the relationship building between Phoebe, and the young bride, Lila. Initially Lila’s self-centeredness got under my skin, but I’ll admit that Espach’s ability to tease out a character was crucial to the believability of the friendship growth between these two. The eccentric cast of family and friends rounds out the story in such a refreshing way, that I found the book hard to put down in a way most serious novels do not. There are many laugh out loud moments amidst the serious ones, and a satisfying conclusion for all involved. No, it is not the fairy tale ending one might expect of a story with a wedding at the heart, but a more realistic outcome for Phoebe and crew. I wholeheartedly hope that readers will see past the initial low moments and r.s.v.p. yes to this wise and beautifully written novel. 5/5 star read

Oh this book is laugh out loud hilarious but also so tender and inspiring. We meet Phoebe at a low point in her life but she decides to take control and change things. What starts as a wedding Crasher in an innocent way ends in new friends and hilarious antics.

This is a must read!! It’s so refreshing to have a story that is so real in the way life can hand you lemons and you get to decide what to do.

I loved this book! I thought the relationship between Lyla and Phoebe was well done and so interesting. The ending was great and really satisfying too.

At times, humor can be hard to write and to do well--this book does it so well. It is funny, but it is also lovely and wonderful. It can be a real feat to laugh and feel for the characters. I really enjoyed this.

Many thanks to @henryholtbooks, @macmillanusa, and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 7/30/24.

This novel is about a woman who is ready to give up. When I first started reading, I thought this was going to be so depressing, but it was actually very heartfelt and quirky with a good message. I think fans of ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman are going to love this one.

Phoebe's life is not going so great, so she books a suite at a luxurious inn. Phoebe quickly realizes when she gets to the inn that she is the only person there who is not a guest of the wedding. The bride spots Phoebe and wants to know why she is there because she booked the whole inn for her wedding. Phoebe tells her she is there to end her life, but the bride will not have her ruining her wedding.

The Wedding People has many life lessons that are important. I found the book to be predictable, but I still enjoyed the story and following Phoebe’s journey. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book publishes on July 30, 2024.

I literally laughed out loud for so much of this book. it was so much fun! The Wedding People is Alison Espach's latest novel and it will bring you so much happiness. Phoebe sets out to a fancy hotel in her best dress ready to kill herself. Instead she meets the bride in an elevator and finds herself one of the "wedding people" who have rented the hotel for the entire week. Come along as she remembers why she wants to live and makes some new friends on the way. You won't be disappointed.

✨Every now and then a book comes along that just speaks to you and moves you in a deep, deep place – one that earns a place on your shelves next to your most cherished reads. This is that book. I loved it so, so much.

✨This is a character-driven novel with beautifully drawn, fully dimensional characters, each with expertly written character arcs. I started this book not fully connecting with any of them – and by the last page, I knew and loved and wanted to be friends with all of them. ALL OF THEM. (Okay, there’s one who doesn’t deserve our friendship. You’ll see….)

✨It’s wise and tender, and equally hilarious. I laughed so hard – with literal wheezing, real tears and slapping my leg like a seal for long periods of time.

✨At its heart, this is a story of losing yourself – then finding yourself all over again. A story of love, loss, family, found family – and a story of becoming. It’s a truly meaningful and beautifully written love story to oneself and a primer on how to be a person. I don’t know how else to say it; it’s profound in its simplicity.

✨There are some deep topics here, so be sure and take note of the trigger warnings. I’ve listed them at the bottom.

✨ On a personal note, I didn’t think a book was going to come along this year that would top NIGHTWATCHING for me in its ability to thoroughly entertain while imparting a deeply significant message – but HERE WE ARE!!

Don’t miss this one. It’s an absolute must read!!

My thanks to @henryholtbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

TW: suicide, infertility, infidelity, death of spouse, death of parent

This was such an unbelievable story -- hilarious and also interweaving with some really important concepts. Highly recommended. Definitely will be a book of the summer!

The description has me and then the first chapter locked me in. I really enjoyed phoebe as the main character. She felt very real. I struggle with long chapters and that made getting through the story a little tough but overall this was a good read.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

First off- this cover! Chefs kiss! It’s gorgeous and so appealing.

At the very beginning we meet Phoebe and discover her desire to kill herself. She checks into a fancy hotel she’s been dreaming of visiting. She’s calm. Plans to take some pills. But she makes the mistake of telling a bride (who the entire hotel is rented out for) her intentions.

Throughout this book the bride, Lila, and Phoebe become each others sounding boards and saviors. Phoebe is given a purpose while also instilling her wisdom on Lila. We watch so much unfold with all the “wedding people.” Phoebe uncovers a lot about herself and her life. And Lila tumbles through like a spoiled brat until she’s forced to face the facts.

I haven’t read anything like this in a while. It was well done. I didn’t particularly love any of the characters. This book definitely kept me on my toes wondering how this was all going to turn out. It’s amazing how many of us go through the motions of life without actually stopping to evaluate.

This book handled a lot of sensitive topics- suicide, cancer, cheating, infertility. I think the author did a good job hitting on a lot of these and how they affect not only the people involved but those around you.

Some of the most hilarious dialogue I think I have ever read. Immerse yourself in the wedding of total strangers and laugh out loud conversations. This book was fun but also touched on life’s complexities in a well meaning manner. I wanted to stay for the next wedding coming in too!

What an absolute gem of a book! Alison Espach is a new to me author and I loved her writing style from the very first page. It is honest, witty, sharp and funny all rolled into one. I thoroughly enjoyed this and am excited for her pub date!

Completely loved this story about extremely serious topics but handled delicately and with humor. Phoebe travels to the fancy hotel of her dreams with the intent to kill herself there. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that instead, she discovers reasons to live thanks to a chance encounter with a bride in the elevator. All of the supporting characters (the wedding people) have moments of self-reflection too and the commentary on human nature was spot on. Great character development all around.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for giving me an ARC of The Wedding People. When I started this book I wasn't sure how I would feel as its not my normal genere, but I really truly loved this book. The plot and the characters were perfect, I loved how honest and authentic the main character is throughout the entire week that the book takes place. I loved that the timeline was basically only a week and showed how much can happen and how complex the lives are of each and every person around at any given time. I loved the references to other books that the author dropped in from time to time. I would highly reccomend this book at all book lovers! This is a book that I will think of often and it will stick with me for many years to come. Its an amazing reminder to live life the the fullest and that its okay to be unsure of the unknown, but leaning into the uncertainty can bring you something even more promising.

This book was entertaining, thoughtful, and insightful at many points throughout the story. Other times, though, I was very disinterested and just skimmed through. I loved Phoebe's character development as she found herself and became more honest with what she wanted and who she really was. Phoebe and Gary's dialogue was very funny and felt very real. This is a great vacation or beach read and I think a lot of women will really enjoy it. It's not particularly "spicy," however there is language about sex, though it's more telling us about it in general, rather than showing us.
3.5 stars. Thanks to Net Galley for letting me read my first advanced copy of a book.

I adored the Wedding People. Espach expertly wove so many narratives across the novel, and I felt genuinely connected to all of the titular wedding people. Phoebe was an incredibly engaging protagonist, and I really enjoyed witnessing her come back to life, and reorient her priorities to best serve herself going forward. I think this book plays well on the "depressed woman" trope that is so rampantly popular, because Phoebe drags herself out of the ditches of depression and starts embracing a new version of life (although with plenty of room for more healing). Lila, the ever-present and moderately self-obsessed bride, was such an entertaining contrast to Phoebe, and I found myself grateful for her chatter, as it slowly brought Phoebe to life again. I loved the ambiguous ending- that Lila and Jeff and Phoebe and Gary don't immediately get together at the end. What especially pleased me was that Phoebe has no interest in letting her ex-husband back into her life. Through the wedding people, she finds a pseudo-daughter figure, female friends, and a new possible love. I wasn't expecting the crowd of wedding guests to have such an impact on her, which I suppose Phoebe was also surprised by. This was one of those books that I finished and felt content with the character's futures. I knew they had good things ahead in their life, thanks to the confident writing by the author. I remember tapping the page to continue and feeling empty when all I saw was the acknowledgements. The Wedding People made me laugh out loud, cry, and most importantly, feel hopeful.

Phoebe Stone has wholly resolved to give up on life. Things just haven't turned out the way she'd hoped, and it's all gotten to be a bit much. When she arrives at the luxurious oceanfront Cornwall Inn on Newport, Rhode Island, she's surprised to find that she's the only guest staying at the property who isn't one of the wedding people.

Phoebe couldn't be further from one of the wedding people; you see, Phoebe came to the Cornwall Inn to end her life.

But in a most unexpected whirlwind of events, Phoebe becomes swept up in the wedding weekend by the glamorous young bride herself. Lila gets what Lila wants, and what Lila wants very much is to not have her wedding tarnished by Phoebe's death.

And just like that, "The Wedding People" soars without question into my top 10 books of 2024, readers. This is a hilarious, heart-wrenchingly tender story about the messiness of life and the chance encounters that--in the course of a single wedding weekend--have the power to change our course in ways we never thought possible.

The characters in "The Wedding People" are masterfully written: complex, deeply-human, all imperfect. And together, they weave a perfect story (with a lovely, well-formed plot I might add) about love, love lost, hope lost, and hope found. If life to you has ever felt like an ocean of loneliness, I implore you, read this book. Through Lila and Gary and most especially Phoebe, "The Wedding People" in a great big lungful of fresh air that reminds us: no matter the broken pieces that are your life, there is always, always a way for them to come back together. We just may not see it right away.

I've been reading this book on and off since December and now it's April. Although it is well-written, I just couldn't connect with it. The characters are flawed, some more insufferable than others, and it overall felt like it was moving so slowly. I can see why some people could enjoy it but the tone of it just wasn't for me.

I randomly came across this book when looking at books to request on net galley. I had never heard of the book, nor the author. With the word "wedding" in the title, I quickly jumped to read the synopsis and a story that takes place over a wedding week? I'm sold.

This is the story of Phoebe, who has come to the Cornwall Inn to live out her dream when her life has fallen to the depths of despair. When she arrives at the hotel she sees that a wedding has taken over the establishment for the week and she is the only guest who is not a part of the wedding. Phoebe "befriends" the bride and is somehow an intricate part of the wedding festivities and the wedding party.

I absolutely adored this book! At first, I thought it would be a typical rom-com/chicklit type of novel (which I'm always down for) but the author has a dark and witty undertone in her writing which made for a more intriguing tale.

Normally, this is the part in my book reviews where I answer the question, "Would this book make for a good movie?" Considering I read that the rights of this book have been sold, we know it is going to be a movie, but I am ecstatic about seeing the pages come to life, side bangs and all.